A Garden of Tribute to open this weekend in Derry’s Creggan estate
George McBrearty (23) died along with Charles Maguire (21) during a gun battle with members of the 14th Intelligence Company in Derry on May 28, 1981.
A new mural has been painted on the gable of his sister’s house in Creggan estate and the adjacent garden has been transformed into a memorial dedicated to 12 republican hunger strikers.
The memorial lists all republicans from the Derry area who died, including IRA and INLA members.
Republicans who have previously gone unrecognised will also have their pictures and names added to the memorial, which to date includes around 130 people.
The main speaker at the launch event will be Thomas ‘Dixie’ Elliot, a former cell mate of hunger strikers Bobby Sands and Thomas McElwee.
The opening will also be chaired by John Crawley, a former US Marine who later joined the IRA.
His recent book, The Yank, revealed the inside story of the IRAs Marita Ann gunrunning plot.
Mr McBrearty’s brother Danny said the development of the garden is an “all inclusive republican project”.
“Any member of the community who has a loved one on the montage can use the garden at any time as a place they can go and honour their loved one,” he told The Irish News.
The Garden of Tribute will open on Sunday, October 2, at the junction of Rinmore Drive and Lislane Drive at 2pm.
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